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“The birds were singing in the ,

And the myrtle and the ivy were in bloom,

And the sun o’er the hills was a-dawning,

Twas then that I laid her in the tomb”

It was a warone to coals on the hearth, and Pa did not build it up All around the little house, in the Big Woods, there were little sounds of falling snow, and fro icicles

In just a little while the trees would be putting out their baby leaves, all rosy and yellow and pale green, and there would be wild flowers and birds in the woods

Then there would be noLaura and Mary would run and play a

Chapter 7

The Sugar Snow

For days the sun shone and the weather ars All day the icicles fell one by one fro sounds in the snowbanks beneath The trees shook their wet, black branches, and chunks of snow fell down

When Mary and Laura pressed their noses against the coldpane they could see the drip of water from the eaves and the bare branches of the trees The snow did not glitter; it looked soft and tired Under the trees it was pitted where the chunks of snow had fallen, and the banks beside the path were shrinking and settling

Then one day Laura saw a patch of bare ground in the yard All day it grew bigger, and before night the whole yard was barethe path and the fence and beside the woodpile

“Can’t I go out to play, Ma?” Laura asked, and Ma said: “May, Laura”

“May I go out to play?” she asked

“You may tomorrow,” Ma promised